Improvement in boots and shoes



T. H. DODGL ir nlprovement in Boots and Shoes.

Ptented Juiy a0 ITLX/ETLEDY -IM. PHOTO 'UfllMRIfIi/C 90-. Nassau/:3PRECISE.)

units IMPROVEMENT IN BOOTS AND SHOES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 130,026, dated July 30,1872.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS H. DODGE, of the city and county of Worcesterand Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Boots and Shoes; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawing, which forms a part of thisspecification, and in which Figure 1 represents a side view of a shoeembracing my improvements, the heel and a portion of the sole beingshown in section. Fig. 2 represents, on a greatly enlarged scale, asection of a boot or shoe sole along the line of nailing, illustratingmy improvement as applied to a boot or shoe having a double sole; andFig. 3 represents a side view of a piece of the wire from a coil, ofwhich the inetalpegs or rivets are cut off to be used for nailing on orattaching the soles.

To enable others skilled in the art to which my invention belongs tomake and use the same, I will describe it in detail.

The nature of my invention relates to the. use of metal pegs or rivetscut from a wire for securing the soles to boots and shoes, which wirehas a fine rib-burr or spiral thread raised upon its outer surface bymeans of passing the wire through a suitable die or dies, as hereinafterdescribed; and also in the combination, with the surface of the wire, ofa wax or other adhesive coating, as and for the purpose hereinafter setforth.

In the drawing, the part marked A A represents the outer sole. Bindicates the inner sole, 0 the upper, and D the .heel of the shoe. Iemploy, for securing the soles AA and B to each other and to the upper0, metal pegs or rivets cut from peculiarly-constructed wire, E, saidwire having a fine continuous screw thread or raised spiral burr or rib,having a very slight pitch upon its outer surface, and the soles areattached by short pieces of said wire, which are cut off into pegs orrivets the proper length and driven through the soles by suitablemachinery. The positions of the metal pegs or rivets are indicated at E,Figs. 1 and 2. The fine screw-thread, burr, or rib a is formed upon thewire E, which is first drawn smooth by passing the latter through arapidly-revolving screw-cuttin g die or dies,

whereby a continuous spiral rib or thread is produced upon the surfaceof the wire, while at the same time such rib a upon the body of the wireis condensed or hardened to such an extent as to add greatly to thestiffness of the wire, in addition to the stiffness resulting from therib or thread itself. This wire may be put up in suitable coils, of asize convenient to use upon the machines for cutting and driving it intothe soles of the boots or shoes, and it may be coated with wax,gutta-percha, asphaltum,

and not screwed, into the work. The latter operation, owing to thefineness of the burrthread and the degree of pitch given it, would benot at all economical or practicable in a manufacturing sense. Theroughness of the burr-edge, while it does notcut the leather to such anextent as to injure it, serves to hold the peg in place, bringing theleather around the peg to a slightly-ragged condition, with the fiberssomewhat torn and spread so that they will engage in and take hold ofthe minute teeth of the burr-thread of the peg; and the wax or otheradhesive material, em-

ployed as specifled,-con1pletes the union of the leather and peg, beingpeculiarly adapted for use in this connection, and with a peg having theabove-described characteristics. The burredge of the wire prevents thewax from being scraped off from the peg when it is driven into theleather, and enables the peg to carry in with it all the wax needed torender secure the union of the fibers of the leather with the burr-edgeof the peg.

When the pieces of wire E are driven into the leather the fibers of theleather press into the depressions between the threads or ribs of thewire, [and thereby render its hold in the leather very firm and secure,while the wax upon the wire adhering to the fibers of the leatherprevents the latter from rusting, and precludes the possibility of anywater working up through the soles of the boot or shoe around the wire,while at the same time forming an elastic connection between the metalpegs and leather.

This method of securing the soles possesses many advantages over themethod of securing them with what is known as the cable screw-wire, orthe Townsend method, so called, and upon which my method is animprovement. Among these advantages may be mentioned the following:

The cable screw-wire requires to be clinched upon the inner side of thesole in order to give the required hold upon the leather; whereas, withmy improved method, the wire will have suflicient hold by simply drivingit into the leather without clinching consequently it can be used in theconstruction of boots or shoes having much thinner soles than can beproperly secured by the cable screw-wire, while it is equally applicableto heavywork. Another advantage is that the water does not work upthrough the soles around the wires or in the depression of thescrew-thread or burr, as it sometimes does with the cable screw-wire,and as the ends of the pegs or wires do not necessarily require to beclinched they can be left below the surface of the inner sole, so thatthey will not rust and discolor the stockings of the wearer or pressinto and injure the bottoms of his feet. As the pitch of the thread orburr a is very slight, the pegs or rivets E do not have a tendency towork up through and project from the inner sole, even after the boot orshoe has beenworn for a long time.

The holding capacity of the pegs or rivets, made by my method, beingmuch greater, as before explained, even without clinching, than that ofthe Townsend or cable -wire, so called, enables me to use a much smallersize of wire for similar classes of work, and the soles are thusrendered more pliable or elastic when bent, as in walking, therebyproducing a more desirable boot or shoe, while a considerable saving isproduced in the cost of metal or wire for the pegs or rivets.

It will be observed that my invention seems to accomplish what has beensought after for many years, viz., the proper and secure attachment ofthe soles of boots and, shoes by such instrumentalities as obviate theobj ections to the clinching of metal pegs or rivets,

as is practiced by the various methods heretofore in use, while at thesame time rendering the shoe as unobjectionable in walking as sewedshoes, without the objections to sewed work, the greatest of which arethe presence of the waxed threads on the inside of the inner sole andthe liability of'the soles to separate as soon as the loop or lock ofthe thread upon the outer sole is worn off. In the drawing themetal'pegs are shown as having been driven into a furrow, and afterwardthe leather turned back over the ends of the heads or outer ends of thepegs, as is the practice in the other styles of using metal pegs; butthis is not necessary, since the wire can be used so small and driven soaccurately that the work will not appear more objectionable thanordinary wood-pegged work. The heel D is composed of hard rubber,pressed and vulcanized around a wooden case or center, D, and is theinvention of H. H. Bigelow. 1

Having described my improvements in boots and shoes, I would state thatI do not claim, broadly, the use of screw-threaded wire for fasteningthe soles to the uppers of boots and shoes, for I am aware the same isnot new; nor do I claim a metallic peg, with a smooth or rounded threadupon it, as shown in Wickershams patent of August 9, 1870. But I am notaware that a metallic peg, expressly adapted to be driven and providedwith a fine continuous raised spiral burr of very slight pitch, asherein shown and described, has ever before been known or used for thepurposes herein specified; therefore,

What I claim asiny invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

' The means herein described for fastening together the soles and uppersof boots and shoes,

-consisting of metal pegs or rivets cut from ribbed or burred wire, madein the peculiar form shown and described, with or without a waxed orother adhesive coating, substantially as set forth. THOS. H. DODGE.Witnesses:

GHAs. H. BURLEIGII, E. E. MOORE.

